My PC keeps switching off and rebooting

Hi,

For the past three evenings, I've booted up my PC when I've got in and literally a couple of minutes in to using it, will switch off and reboot. On restarting the keyboard wont work until Windows has started. I'm thinking a major reinstall of everything, though I'm also thinking it could be the start of something thats going to get worse. Once rebooted, it doesnt do it again.

Sounds more like power or motherboard issues.. A reinstall won't fix that, but you could try..

In control panel open the EVENT VIEWER and look for any red items that were logged around the time of the bad reboot. Any information there might help figure it out.

If you use an NVIDIA video card go to their site and download the latest drivers from there (never from widndows update). I have heard of bad drivers for NVidia doing this very thing before.

After that its hard to tell what it could be. Periodically formatting a PC and starting it for scratch is good anyway. I know people who do it every three months.

Also check to be sure the fan on the CPU is running.

My best guess = the Ass-Rock motherboard that you are probably using. Might be time for a new PC.

Hmmm...are you using a USB keyboard? You may have USB legacy support turned off in your BIOS settings in which case the keyboard will not respond until windows has loaded. The switching off could be a anothing from a driver/resources conflict to a virus. Try to use a PS/2 keyboard first. If the problem persists then you may have a motherboard problem.

That was exactly the reason why my PC behaved in a similar way a few years back!

It most definitely is a power supply or fan problem. If both are running fine, a re-install could help. I would clean everything and do a re-install before I would take it to a computer doctor. I have an 11 year old PC still running fine after an "expert" told me that my mother board was fucked. The only thing fucked was Win'98! It runs three times as fast on Linux and has now become my son's PC for computer games we get in cereal boxes.

it sounds like a virus! I had one that did the same thing to my PC. I had to do a boot sector search to fing the bugger and clean the system.

People.. A virus will not affect the power status of a PC, and deff. not before the OS has even started.
The problem is deff. a power issue. The keyboard (USB) sometimes working during BIOS post/sometimes not
also points to this as a USB Keyboard is a BUS powered device.

@3L Check all your fans are running (And they are clean) and make sure the coolers are firmly attached. Next step is to get a new power
supply, perhaps a higher wattage then what you have now. There not that expensive.

Sounds like the CPU is overheating, common problem, check both the fan on the main power supply at the back of the unit, and also the fan on the CPU for dirt/oose/crap , give them a wee blast with the hoover (whilst PC is switched off of course!) and all will be well.

I agree with DJ Grazy as this happened to me too, though in my case, the fan was whirring really loudly, so that was a bit of a clue. BD helped me replace the fan in it and it worked fine after.

To be certain it is not a virus issue, do a system restore to a date before your problems started. If you still have problems it is a hardware issue.

Happens to my PC too, especially when I am in Toytown. Don't know why. We have all the latest hardware and software installed and power supply is good, antivirus is working wonders. Something to do with TT, maybe ?

yes, I think that it could be any of the suggested problems, CPU overheating, Power supply, Mother board, or in the worse case a virus (Sasser for example) . What Antivirus program are you using, and do you have system backup software?

Couldn't resist a thread like this one, and so subtly plugging ourselves:

Genesis Systems

Yikes, my system is doing the same thing switching off and rebooting. I got a microsoft message saying my system is recovering from a "serious error". It's running now, but I'm afraid to cut it off.

Time to Format/Reinstall

How do I do this??? I think what I will attempt to do now is save all the [s]crap[/s] stuff that's on my 'puter so I don't lose my information.

I had this trouble last year, and it was my Graphic Card. First just unplug the PC, open it, and with a soft brush remove the dust of the fan, second, remove carefully your Graphic card, and under it you will have another small fan, carefully remove the dust from it. This is a practice that should be done about twice a year, specially if you have animals at home. There is a big chance that the removal of the dust from the card will enable the fan to work proparly and your problem is solved, if not, most probably you will need a new card.
let us know

Lavender Rain, don't format and reinstall just yet, you might not need to. If clearing the dirt from the fan doesn't work, than you will need to test if it is the graphic card.
The easiest way to test it is, if you have a second computer, or a friend's computer, remove the card and install it on yours, if it works proparly, it means it is time to buy a new one. Reason I say test it first, cause they are pretty expensive.

Formatting and reinstalling is very easy, but would need to know your OS. If it comes down to that, PM me, and I will go through the process step by step.

good luck and keep us posted

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I'm not good with 'puters and when my 'puter breaks down, I do too . It's a major way I stay connected with the world!

I know what you mean, the computer is my work and social life, so it needs to run smoothly. I suggest though you do the cleaning of both fans asap, because if the card is fine, and the dirt is not allowing the fan to function, you will overheat the system by forcing it to run. In fact, that is the reason the system is shutting down, it is basically securing that your system doesn't overheat. I am not a real Tech person, so for the experts out there, they must be able to explain things clearer. I have just learned the basics to keep my systems in top shape.

Ok..
So My GFs Daughter did the Updates to her PC..

Its a legit copy with license etc.

After the update the Pc Constantly boots up... runs for about 3 minutes, then shuts down and re-boots.

Take out the Network cable and it works perfect..

I have rummaged about the Microshite website and cant find a patch or anything!

Any suggestions other than a re-install?

Thanks

SP

the simple solution: buy a Mac.

+1 for Mac (you knew that was coming!). Until then, I'd try disabling the network functionality in the BIOS, leave the cable in, and see what happens. Depending on what happens we can eliminate certain possibilities.

SP, you need to switch off the automatic reboot. This is slightly different depending on the version of Windows. Google for the right one. Once you do that you will be able to recreate the problem and instead of rebooting it'll probably give you a blue-screen crash and you'll be able to write down what the actual error is. Post that up or drop me a mail and you should be able to get some useful answers.

Thanks Peeps..

Will Do what Keydeck suggested.. Then if I cant find an answer.. I will come back..

However, please keep the suggestions coming..
The best suggestion so far was by PM...

***

I remember I had the exact same problem with my computer and paid 75 Euros to get this puppy fixed. I think he ended up reinstalling the software.

Oddly enough I have a PC with the opposite problem - it keeps switching on. Every night, sometime around 1am it starts up for no apparent reason. The BIOS has everything I can think of disabled, wake on LAN, wake on timer, anything to do with automatic anything and still it starts up. Have to switch it off at the power supply at the back. Odd.

Do you have a setting for what to do after a power outage? Maybe the machine's seeing a small outage and is set to restart after a power outage.

If not, check if there's a BIOS upgrade available.

Other than that, might be a defective power switch or something. Try disconnecting if from the motherboard and leave the PS switch on to see if that was the problem.

I had a similar problem and the interwebs suggested disabling the Windows Automatic Updater - on the premise that the automatic update process (which initiates a few minutes after start up) is interfering with the PC. The description of how to do it varies according to your OS.

In fact my problem was caused by a badly seated memory chip - so I agree with the posts that advise occasionally opening the back and checking for blocked fans, excess dust, loose wires & components.

With the power off!

When IE 8 downloaded a couple of weeks ago, IE started to crash and would hard reset/reboot; power itself off and on. Not to mention the hangs in IE when visiting certain sites. I thought it was one site but then within hours, the problem got worse. I removed IE 8 and put it back to IE v7 and no auto reboots or resets since. Sometimes it's simply software, not hardware.

I hate Microsoft.

Problems with IE? Easy answer: Firefox.